This application claims the priority of Japanese Patent Application No. 5-193054 filed on Jul. 8, 1993 which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the structure for supplying a signal and a power to a small-sized tripod head which directs a camera or the like to a desired direction by remote control.
2. Description of the Related Art
In photographing by a television camera in broadcasting of ITV (Industrial Television), CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) or the like, the television camera is often remote-controlled in order to take a good picture of a subject or to take a picture in a predetermined range. As a means for turning the television camera, a tripod head is used.
A conventional tripod head is comparatively heavy, but since the television camera has recently become smaller and lighter and it has had a simpler structure, the present applicant has proposed a smaller tripod head in view of the recent trend of the television camera.
FIG. 7 shows the structure of a conventional tripod head. Two driving shafts which are orthognal to each other are provided in a tripod head (main body) 1, and supporting disks 2 and 3 are connected to the driving shafts. A cable 5 which is connected to a controller or the like through a connector 4 is attached to the tripod head 1, and through the cable 5, not only is a power supplied but also a control signal, etc. are transmitted. One of the supporting disks, for example, the supporting disk 3 is attached to a supporting piece 6 disposed on a wall or the like, and a television camera is attached to the other supporting disk 2 in such a manner as to be in parallel with the front surface of the tripod head 1. According to this structure, when the supporting disk 3 is rotated by controlling the driving shaft, the television camera is tilted (vertical direction), while the television camera is panned (horizontal direction) by the rotation of the supporting disk 2. In this way, it is possible to move the television camera in a desired range by remote control.
In such a small-sized tripod head, when the tripod head 1 is rotated (tilted), the cable 5, which is connected to the controller, is also rotated, so that the smooth motion of the tripod head 1 is restricted to the limit of the flexibility of the cable 5. In addition, it is difficult to rotate the tripod head 1 not less than 360 degrees. The weight of the cable 5 constitutes an extra load to the motor for driving the driving shafts, which makes it difficult to reduce the size of the motor and, hence, the tripod head 1 as a whole.